A World of Broken Things
by MoonChild2308
Summary: Yesterday my biggest problem was doing my math homework. Today I'm being attacked by zombies. I never thought I'd be stuck with two agents, trying to survive in a world where everything's falling apart, my best friend's dead, and nothing makes sense anymore. Leon/OC RE6
1. 1: You Just Shot the President!

Hi guys! I became obsessed with the RE series when 5 came out and now that 6 is out it's dawned on me that this would be an epic fanfiction. And I love Leon so here goes nothing XD I'm thinking of giving the whole series (at least the numbered ones because those are the only ones we have) another play through. I love the first 3 games. Anyway, hope you like :D

Just a warning, I'm not sure how gruesome the scenes are going to get because I've never written a story like this before but I can guarantee the language from my lovely little OC will be colorful so please don't flame on her language.

Chapter 1

You Just Shot the President!

There was a loud groan as my face met with the carpet with a thud. I lied there for a moment, staring at the hideous gray carpet that was standard for all dorms at Ivy University, as I raised my hand and gave my bed, which had just chucked me onto the floor, the bird. After determining that I seriously needed to vacuum my floor next time I bothered to do some cleaning, I slowly pulled myself up on my knees.

How long had I been asleep? I couldn't even remember when the hell I had fallen asleep. It must have been awhile because I felt almost refreshed, though my sinuses still felt like they were going to explode from my face. I had to have slept for at least nine hours in order to feel this decent, despite the cold I could coming on. Damn Natalie Potts, Miss I-Don't-Have-Manners-and-Can't-Cover-My-Goddamn-Mouth-When-I-Cough.

I looked around for my roommate Caroline, surprised she wasn't rolling on the floor laughing at me. She wasn't here. I glanced at the clock and sighed. She was probably out trolling for food. She had a bigger stomach than I had, and mine was huge. Speaking of food… my stomach growled at me. Maybe a meal would make me feel better.

I had fallen asleep in my clothes from yesterday; dark denim jeans with my blue and purple striped tank top and my favorite black biker boots. I briefly contemplated getting changed but then decided against it. I was just going to get food, not become a Victoria's Secret model. It's not like I needed freshly cleaned clothes to go find Caroline.

Thinking back now, I'm kind of glad I didn't change.

I popped a couple Tylenol Cold and Flu pills from the bottle on my desk, hoping it would alleviate the pain in my head, and turned to leave. I couldn't help but find the silence kind of disturbing as I opened the door into the hallway. Normally there was noise; music playing, people talking… Something to let you know that there was someone around. Now I heard nothing but the storm that was going on outside, but that wasn't particularly loud either. I had heard a lot of people had vacated for a few days because the President was coming to visit. He was supposed to be holding some important press conference, though he hadn't specified on what it was about. The students that could went home, I guessed. As for me? Well, I was always here.

I wandered through the next couple hallways, stunned at how many people had left. I thought more would have stayed with the president being here. Between his fans who adored him and the losers hoping for their five minutes of fame somehow, it just seemed like the number of people on campus was lacking. At least I didn't have to deal with anyone. But where was Caroline?

She wasn't in any of the dorm hallways I passed through on my way to the kitchen. After what seemed like ages I found the kitchen and frowned when I saw she wasn't in her either. "Caroline?" I called as I stood in the middle of the kitchen. The room was completely empty. Never mind where Caroline and the other students had gone; where was the kitchen staff? Wasn't there a big shindig going down in the next room in a little bit? There should be people here, making dishes and milling about like crazy people who normally didn't let kids in and made them take the long way around. "Care Bear?" I said again, this time using the nickname I had formed for her when we first became friends last year and I realized what a softie she was. "Are you here?"

I heard a noise from the next room over and went to investigate. She was hard to miss. The lights were on in the banquet hall and I instantly caught sight of her blonde head across the room, standing by one of the tables. "Hey there, roomie," I smiled as I made my way toward her.

As I got closer to her, I could tell something was wrong. Her sun-kissed California skin was paler than mine and… Was that blood? "Holy crap, Caroline, you're bleeding." There was a large gash in her shoulder that was dripping blood down her arm and shirt.

"Winnie…" she said, her voice small, as she looked up at me. "You're here…"

"Of course I'm here, Care Bear. Where else am I gonna go? Caroline!" I caught her as she swayed and started to fall, carefully lowering her to the floor. "Let me go find help." I instantly looked around but gave up after a few seconds, knowing that there was no one in the room with us. "Is anyone there?" I yelled as loudly as I could, hoping that it would bring someone running. "Someone help us!"

Her body shook violently as she started to cough. She was coughing up blood, splattering it on my chest. "Jo… se…" She was wracked with another coughing fit for a moment before she grew still and her hand, which had been gripping mine, fell away. Her face, grinning at me only yesterday, was now lifeless. I didn't have to feel her pulse to tell me what had just happened.

"_Caroline_!"

CPR. The thought struck me like a train. I didn't know it but if I could just find someone who did, maybe they could save her. I had to try at least. There were stairs in front of me and, once I gently laid her on the floor, I bolted up them, taking them three at a time. The doors at the top of them were already open. I stopped briefly, only long enough to hear a voice coming from the end of the hallway, and made my way quickly towards it.

"Stay right where you are."

I didn't recognize the voice but I could tell it belonged to a man. That didn't matter right now. I didn't care who was in the room; man, woman, circus clown or talking dog. All that mattered was that they helped me.

"Mr. President!"

President? Was this the room they were keeping the president in? I was about to barge in on the president. Did I care? No. Right now I didn't give a rats ass if he was the king of China. He would know what to do.

"Don't make me do this. Adam!"

Without a second thought as to what I might have been walking into, I put my hand on the door and shoved it open just as a gunshot was ringing out. I was standing in the doorway behind the man I'd heard, watching as a bullet from his gun pierced the president's head and he toppled over on the floor.

I didn't realize I was screaming until they, there was a woman in there too, turned to look at me with shock on their faces. "You just shot the president!" I managed to gasp before turning on my heel and splitting.

I was at the top of the staircase before they started after me, yelling at me to stop and that I didn't understand. Understand was a foreign word to me at that moment. My best friend was dead and I had just witnessed the president being assassinated. No, I didn't understand. But I wasn't about to turn around and ask them.

The stairs were a blur as I ran down them as fast as my legs could go. I was vaguely surprised when I reached the bottom that I hadn't tripped and broken my face.

Wait, where was Caroline? She had been lying right there by the stairs. Now she was gone. It wasn't possible. Her dea… unconscious body did not just get up and walk away. I had seen her…

Suddenly I was aware of the floor rushing up at me. I pivoted at the last moment, with just enough time so that I didn't land on my face again. What hit me? There was a growl and I made the mistake of looking to the side.

_Caroline?_ She was on top of me in a second, animal sounds coming from her throat, and began snapping her teeth as she bore down on me. "Caroline, what are you doing? Stop it!" I screamed, trying to force her off me.

I had just gotten my hand out from under her and was starting to shove her away when there was another gunshot. She screeched and collapsed on to me.

She rolled over and onto the floor. Standing only a few feet in front of me were the man and woman. There was a gun in his hands, aimed at me. No, not me. It had been aimed at Caroline.

"What did you do?" I screamed as I scrambled to my knees and turned to her. Blood was beginning to pool around her, spreading outward from the fresh bullet hole in the back of her head. I was kneeling in her blood. "Caroline! No, no, no, Caroline. Get up! You have to get up!" I was shaking her and somewhere in the back of my mind I registered how futile that was. "You're not dead! You're not allowed to be dead, Caroline! You're all I have." I think it was the large tear that splashed onto my forearm that brought me back to my senses. I felt a hand on my shoulder and when I looked up slowly, he was standing over me, pulling me away.

"_What the fuck!_" I screamed at the top of my voice. I tore my shoulder from his grasp and forced myself to my feet. Before I knew it, my fist was connecting with his jaw. He stumbled back a few steps, rubbing his chin where I had hit him. His partner, or whatever she was, pulled a gun of her own out and promptly pointed it at me. "You're going to shoot me? After what I just saw you do? You deem me threatening now because I decked this murderer?"

"Put the gun down," the man told her, holstering his own weapon in… what? A show of peace that he wasn't going to put me out of my misery? Yeah, because I really believed that. Though, I'd never admit it to anyone, a good part of me wished that he would. "I understand you're angry and upset-"

"Because that just makes everything fucking okay!" I don't know how I managed to continue being the sarcastic asshole I usually am in the circumstances but, once it occurred to me that it was going on, I decided to roll with it. "I just watched you shoot the president in the head! In the goddamn head! Let me place the first checkmark in the What the Fuck column of things that don't make sense! And if that wasn't bad enough you just shot my best friend!" The sentence rang through me and I stopped, finding it hard to breathe all of a sudden. My best friend, the girl who had become my family, was dead. I would never see her smile or hug her or hear her stupid _Call Me Maybe_ ringtone again. It wasn't possible. How could this be happening? As if my life wasn't bad enough already, now it was beginning a crazy spiral out of control once more.

"What?" I asked, barely aware the woman had said something.

She had put her gun away at his command and gestured her empty hand at Caroline's body. "Look at her. Please, it will make more sense if you just look at your friend."

Something in the back of my mind screamed at me not to turn around, not to ruin the image of the girl I knew. But I, being who I am, didn't listen to the voice in my head. I turned and was barely able to suppress a heart-wrenching sob.

It was Caroline, but at the same time it wasn't at all. Her face, once flawless, was missing chunks of flesh. Blood was pouring from her mouth and her lips were pulled back to reveal rotting teeth.

Not wanting to see this any longer, I spun around to face the strangers once more. "She's a zombie," he said in response to the question that must have been obvious on my face.

"Zombie?" I actually laughed in disbelief. "No, not possible. Those are things, imaginary creatures, in bad horror movies and video games. I play those games! Nuh uh."

He took a few steps towards me. "I know it doesn't sound reasonable but it's what's happening." From the way he said that I could tell he was serious. Which left only one question on my mind: what the fuck was my life coming to?

There was a ringing and both of them made for their pockets. Her cell phone was out first and he moved to her side. "Hunnigan?"

Seeing her cell phone, I thought about mine. Had I left it in the room because that would be really shitty… Never mind, it was in my pocket.

From the beginning of their conversation I was able to gather that his name was Leon Kennedy and hers was Helena Harper. They seemed to be secret service for the president or something. "Look, I hate to rush introductions but I need a report on your situation," the lady on the phone was saying.

"Situation?" I almost scoffed, finding the whole thing almost funny in a sick, twisted way. "Well, considering Leon what's-his-face just shot the president and then Caroline, I'd say situation's pretty crappy."

"He'd already been infected by the time we found him," Helena explained to this Hunnigan woman. "Leon did what he had to. He saved my life."

"Alright, I'll submit the report," Hunnigan sighed after a moment. "Who's there with you?"

Leon and Helena looked at me, clearly expecting me to introduce myself. It dawned on me that I hadn't actually done that yet. "Jo," I said simply, from force of habit of giving out the name I preferred. "Josefine Winters…"

"What are you doing here?" Helena asked me with suspicion.

She was treating _me_ like a criminal after what they'd just done? I did _not _need this right now. "I go here."

"A student? All students were to have been sent home yesterday," Hunnigan said, confused.

I had forgotten about the evacuation. Ten minutes ago I would have said that explained the unnatural silence, which it partly did, but now I had second thoughts. How many people had gotten out and how many people were… I didn't want to think about it. "Some students are allowed to stay."

Leon was looking at me strangely. It was pissing me off. "Why did you stay?" I knew he was going to ask that.

"None of your damn business."

"Fair enough." He dropped it but it was obvious he was still curious. "You're coming with us."

"Like hell," I spat out instantly. "I don't need your help. I can take care of myself." They had no idea how long I'd been doing it for.

"Leon, we don't have time to babysit her," Helena argued, not seeing Leon's point. "We need to get to Tall Oaks Cathedral." So she had her own agenda. Not surprising.

Leon gave her a sharp look. "She's going to get killed if she stays by herself. We're taking Josefine with us and we'll get to the cathedral. I don't want to be responsible for any more deaths."

I flinched a little at the use of my name, something I had shortened a long time ago. But I wasn't about to let these lunatics in on that.

Hunnigan said goodbye, telling them, and me I suppose, to be careful. The phone hung up, Leon looked back at me. "We should get moving. Helena, take the lead."

"I never said I was going with you assholes," I started to argue, adamant on taking care of myself. I had no plan, but I never did and I always turned out fine.

Paying no attention to my defiance at being stuck with them, Helena cautiously started to move through the banquet hall. "You're coming with us and that's final." It dawned on me that he was a good half a foot at least taller than I was, which isn't hard to do when comparing yourself to a 5'4" girl, as he walked towards me. He grabbed my arm, firmly but not trying to hurt me, and shoved me in front of him. "Follow Helena."

Casting a last glance at Caroline's dead body, I took a deep breath and walked forward. Just yesterday she was a living, breathing girl who had been chucking Cheerios at me as I did math homework. Now she was a zombified corpse. Part of it was his fault. I won't lie. I blamed him for shooting her. But part of it wasn't his fault at all. Something had caused this to happen, had done this to my best friend, the girl who had been like my sister.

_Don't worry, Care Bear, I'll figure this out. I'll find out what happened to you._

I got the feeling that, following Leon and Helena, I would be able to do that.

_I promise._


	2. 2: Familiar Face

Thanks to XLuLuTheCrazyX and xXchantillyXx for reviewing! And special thanks to GeeDeeny for reviewing and for being quite possibly the best person in the entire world for helping me out so much with this. Review if you like it! Reviews motivate me to keep going so review, review, review!

Chapter 2

Familiar Face

I was determined to be a pain in the ass. If they were going to force me along with them, I was going to be the biggest nuisance they'd ever known.

"I'm hungry," I said as we entered the kitchen. My stomach growled to further prove my point. That bit of annoying was part me wanting to piss them off, part me wanting to forget Caroline for even a moment, and mostly my stomach trying to feed on itself because I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday.

Helena looked frustrated with me while Leon was just staring at me. "We need to keep moving," was all he said.

"Well, unless you want an unconscious, starved body on your hands, you'll give me a minute to find some food," I replied with a nasty smirk. I was angry and I was hungry. Not a good combination.

"Then we'll leave you behind," Helena snapped. "We don't have time for-"

"Helena," Leon said with a glance at her. She stopped and looked at him, but ultimately decided to drop it. "Find something to eat, Josefine, but make it quick."

"Thanks for the permission but I was going to do it anyway." Her nerves were easy to get on but he seemed to be the level-headed one in the group, because it sure wasn't me.

Behind me they turned to each other and began to talk. Not really caring about their conversation, I ignored them and began digging through cabinets in the kitchen for food. There wasn't much, which is surprising because I had figured there would be bundles of it with the president's banquet. Maybe they hadn't had the chance to make it yet when… Was everyone on the kitchen staff like that now?

I spotted a loaf of bread sitting on a shelf in one of the cabinets. It looked fresh, or as fresh as I was going to get right now, so I reached for it. I was about to start eating when I turned back around. Suddenly the room spun out of focus and I stumbled.

There were hands on my shoulders, steadying me, and I looked up into Leon's blue eyes. "Are you okay, Josefine?" He seemed worried, but that was impossible.

"I'm fine," I lied and waved my loaf of bread in his face. "Just withering away from starvation." I was pretty sure my cold was messing with my head but I'd never admit that to them. I would feel better after I got some food in me. He seemed to buy my excuse and backed away.

There was a crash from the hallway outside the kitchen, making the three of us jump. "What was that?" Helena asked as she pulled her gun out and started towards the door.

"Stay behind me," Leon ordered me as he followed after his partner.

Fine by me. What was I going to do? Beat a zombie with bread? Somehow I didn't think that would go over well. I took up the unarmed rear as I tried to shove the loaf of bread down my throat as fast as I could.

I caught up with them at the door at the end of the hallway, trying to swallow the last bite. Downing a whole loaf of bread in a minute with nothing to drink wasn't as easy as I'd thought.

Slowly Helena opened the door and they moved in. I stepped into the room just as they aimed their weapons at something.

It was a man, watching us with wide eyes and his hands in the air. I panicked. "Don't shoot!" Without really thinking, I reached over and knocked Leon's gun out of his hand.

His weapon fell to the floor while Helena holstered hers, shaking her head. Leon was giving me an annoyed look as he bent to pick it up. "I wasn't going to shoot him!"

I hadn't stopped to consider that they would have realized this guy was a man, not a zombie, and not pulled the trigger. "How the hell was I supposed to know? You've shot everyone else!" I snapped back at him. "It was a reasonable mistake, Leon. Don't get your panties all in a bunch."

The man began coughing, falling to his knees. I started to rush to his side to check on him but Helena grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Are you okay?" I asked, despite not being able to help him up. Leon stepped forward in my place.

"The fog…" he began, out of breath from coughing.

Helena stared at him in question. "What?"

"The fog… It came out of nowhere."

"Josefine, you were here. Did you notice any fog?" Leon turned to ask me.

I shrugged, trying to think of one but knowing it was pointless. "Uh, no. I was sleeping."

His face told me he found that strange but I didn't care. Like what I did with my free time was any of his business. Apparently his free time was spent shooting zombified presidents but did I judge? Well, yes… But that's not the point.

The man turned around as a scream sounded from somewhere else nearby. "Liz!" he cried out. He started to run towards it but Leon grabbed him, causing his cell phone to fall out of his pocket. "Let me go!"

"It's too dangerous!" Leon warned him.

Pulling out of Helena's grasp, I bent down to pick up the phone. Sliding it up, the screen lit with a picture of a girl, brunette with her hair in a braid. "Lizzie?"

Stopping, the man looked at me, shock on his face. "You know my daughter? Have you seen her?" He was in front of me, hands on my shoulders and shaking me desperately.

Leon moved to pull him off me but I stopped him with a glance. "You're Lizzie's dad," I said calmly, putting my hands on top of his. "She's in a couple of my classes. We're not really friends but I've talked to her a couple times. She's very smart." The man smiled at me, but I could see the tears forming in his eyes. My words seemed to relax him to some degree and he stepped away. "I haven't seen her, I'm sorry. But we'll help you find her."

"What?" Helena groaned. "We don't have time for this."

"Does it look like I care what we do and don't have time for?" I snarled at her, surprising both her and Leon. "I really don't give a fuck what you think. We're helping him and that's final." I looked at Leon, silently daring him to challenge me.

To my surprise this time he had a small smile. "You're right. Let's go find your daughter. But you have to keep your voice down."

The man seemed to understand and nodded, thanking us.

As we started to move forward, I tried to walk up next to the man to try and talk to him but Leon grabbed me once again and shoved me behind him and in front of Helena.

One of my few remaining nerves snapped and I kicked him. Bad move on my part because a pain shot up from my foot into my ankle and I sucked in a breath. I'd sprained my ankle about a month ago and every now and then it still bothered me. I guess this was one of those times. Leon glanced back at me but, otherwise, didn't say a word. I could tell I was bothering him now.

We moved through the kitchen again now and back into the banquet hall. Big difference? It was a lot darker now than it had been before. "Who turned off the lights?" Helena voiced the question in my mind.

I was about ten steps into the room when there was a flash and crack of lightning. I think my heart skipped a beat and I jumped, letting out a small shriek when I felt something hard behind me. I quickly whirled around, letting out a breath of relief when I found it was only Leon. Not wanting to hear some lame quip about how I was scared of thunder, I stormed off to catch up to Liz's father, who was making his way across the hall now.

Surprise, surprise. Leon stopped me once more. Having had enough of this being shoved around I yanked my arm out of his grasp and stomped my foot. Wrong foot and the pain shot up my leg again, making me wince. "If you lay your hands on me one more time so help me I'll-"

"You'll what?" he asked quietly, glaring down at me. I'd apparently hit his pissed off point. Nice to know how much obnoxious college girl he could stand. "Kick me again? I'm going out of my way to bring you with us and I don't have to. You're strong, I'll give you that, but you wouldn't last five seconds face to face with a room full of living corpses. You need to stop running around like a child because you're going to get hurt, which you obviously already are. I can see you injured your ankle. So you're going to stop acting reckless and you're going to stay by me."

"I never asked for your goddamn protection so stop acting like you're so high and mighty for protecting some tiny little college girl. I'm not fragile or weak and I don't need you to shield me from all the shit that's going on. I've been taking care of myself for a lot longer than you think and I'll continue to do it for years to come. So shove off!" As soon as I finished arguing I turned and stormed off. Ignoring the pain in my ankle I made my way across the room to where Helena and Liz's father had wandered to.

I happened to look up just as the chandelier by the staircase started to wobble. Just my luck, he was walking right under it. Instinct kicked in and I dashed towards him, pulling him out of the way just as the chandelier crashed to the floor.

"Some draft," Leon mumbled as he joined us.

I quickly checked the man over, but he seemed okay to my relief. "I didn't even notice the chandelier until it was already falling," Helena said, looking at me with what appeared to be some newfound respect. "Your reflexes are impressive. I might not have been able to get to him in time."

"Yeah, well…" I sighed, thinking back to how I'd honed those reflexes. "Whatever."

"Why are we just standing here?" Liz's father broke into the conversation, beginning to panic once more. "We need to find her!"

I turned to him, smiling as calmly as I could. "We'll find her. Don't worry. We're going to do everything we can to make sure you find Liz."

That seemed to reassure him and he continued on to the door. Leon hung back with me as we moved into a room with a large window. "So, you have a nice side after all."

I eyed him suspiciously. What the hell was he getting at? "I just don't like to see a caring father separated from his daughter, especially in something like this. I don't want to leave her alone, either. I already did that to Caroline…"

He stopped me, but without touching me this time. "You know what happened to your friend isn't your fault, right? In this kind of situation, chances are it couldn't have been prevented."

Was he right? If I had woken up earlier would the same thing that happened to her have happened to me, too? I shook my head, not sure what to think. I know what he said made sense but I still blamed myself, no matter how illogical it was. If I had woken up just a little bit earlier, maybe I could have saved her from turning into… I shuddered.

There was another clap of thunder, making me jump again. Leon chuckled as he finally put two and two together. "You're afraid of thunder storms."

I was thankful for the darkness because at least he couldn't see the embarrassed blush that I could feel in my face. Rather than deal with him, I took the chance to rush ahead and follow the rest of our company.

I moved too fast in the darkness and, unable to see clearly where I was going, I tripped on the carpet in the next room. My hands went out just in time to stop my face plant into the floor. "You okay?" Leon asked from behind me. He offered me his hand but I ignored it.

I tried to get up myself but the moment I put my body weight on my ankle, it gave. Grudgingly, I took his hand and he hoisted me to my feet. "I'm perfectly fine."

Even in the shadows, I could see him raise an eyebrow. "What did you do to your ankle, Josefine?"

I had the feeling he was going to pester me about it until I told him, so I gave in. "I sprained it a few weeks ago in my kickboxing class." He seemed mildly impressed by that fact. "It _was_ getting better…"

He had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. I was beyond tempted to punch him in the face again. "Serves you right for kicking me."

"Asshole."

From the other side of the room the man started to cough and we went to join him. "You alright?" Leon asked.

"I will be once I find my daughter," he answered sadly.

I put my hand on his shoulder and started towards the door. "Then let's keep looking for her."

The next hallway was long and, again, I was sandwiched between Helena in the front and Leon behind me. We passed by an elevator but there was no power to it. The man said he had the keys for it and we agreed to head back once we found Liz and we would take his car. Helena pushed the door at the end of the hall open and they readied their guns for whatever might be next.

A girl ran out in front of us but she stopped and fell to the ground. "Liz!" The man rushed forward to his daughter.

"Dad?" she seemed hardly coherent but I felt like a weight had been lifted, helping him find her. "Where's Mom and Liam?"

"They're safe," he reassured her. Helping her to her feet, he looked at us to turn back.

The walk back to the elevator was slow, having to carry Liz, but I took her on one of my shoulders and helped him along. What else was I going to do? I had to help somehow.

Once in the elevator, we placed Liz on the floor. She started to cough, just like he'd been before. "It's going to be okay, Lizzie." I wasn't sure if he was more trying to comfort her, or himself. "You're going to be okay."

She looked up at him and her eyes were dull, just as Caroline's had been… "Dad…" she whispered, and collapsed against the elevator wall.

I was vaguely aware of Leon gently grabbing me and pulling me off the floor. He pushed me against the back wall and stood in front of me. "Do what I say this time and _stay behind me_."

I listened to her father begin another coughing fit and fall to the floor beside her.

For once, I didn't have the energy to argue.


End file.
